Monday, October 29, 2012

Due date week


I'm huge!  I'm at 40 weeks and feeling ripe and ready to go.  Our little pumpkin is nearly ready for harvest.  The due date is Oct. 31, and so she's likely to make an appearance this week or next.  I don't think I can grow much more, so here's to hoping Zarya shows up sooner rather than later.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Does this church make me look fat?


For those who can't read the mini print on the picture of the book cover above, it says: "Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?  A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right, and Solves Her Lady Problems."  This is Rhoda Janzen's latest book and since I recommended her first book, "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress", to you all a year or two ago, I thought it fitting that I post about this, her second book.

It was with some trepidation that I recommended "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress", because sometimes people think missionaries stick to reading extremely wholesome books and that one didn't quite meet G-rated standards.  However, it was well-written, hilarious, and a good story, so I went ahead and posted about it on this blog.  But now, with "Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?", I feel just fine telling you all that it's a good read and that I recommend it.  Due to some giant life and faith changes in the author's life between the two books, you'll find this second book to be quite different in language (i.e. cleaner) and tone (this one is about her growing in active faith).

What makes this book special to me is that I personally know the author and greatly respect her as a person and passionate believer.  In addition, she's a fabulous writer who can make you laugh aloud while reading about cancer and admire her perspective about how faith must permeate every aspect of life.  This is a fun and thoughtful memoir and I hope you enjoy it!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Cooking for a party

The chefs with their big pots and lots of firewood piled up

Tanzanians don't use cutting boards to finely chop their greens

Cooking pots are balanced on three rocks and the surrounding ground is the prep area for peeling tomatoes

After everyone has eaten, the dishes must be collected and washed (and notice the woman reading the newly-published Scripture on the side!)
Earlier this month, the Jita people received the books of Luke and Ruth in their own language!  Since we are away from Tanzania right now we couldn't attend, but thanks to our colleagues in Musoma, we have enjoyed seeing pictures of the party the Jita people put on to celebrate this event.

I thought you all might enjoy seeing a few good pictures of how Tanzanians cook for a big gathering.  It's a little bit different than how it's done in North America!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Life is Precious

The following post was written by our co-worker Lyndy Henrickson, and was originally posted on her blog (http://mkteacher.blogspot.com).  Lyndy teaches the missionary kids of the Mara Cluster and we hope she's still around when Zarya is old enough to attend school!  This blog post is Lyndy's personal experience from this past August and, I will warn you in advance, is not an easy read.  I think it is a sad and true insight into life and the worldview where we serve.

On Tuesday, August 28th, a little baby boy was born.  On the side of the road, just outside my gate.


It was right after school, and my teammate Chris Gilmore had just come to pick up her son.  She recalls seeing a woman slide off the back of a motorcycle taxi onto the grass.  As she drove out the gate a few minutes later, she saw that the woman had just given birth!  She must have been on her way to the hospital, not far from my house, when the baby decided he couldn't wait even a minute more.  (Can you imagine riding side-saddle on the back of a motorbike while in labor?!)

Chris quickly stopped the car and got out to help, calling for me to come, too.  The baby was alive... but not crying.  She tried to clear his mouth and nose, and could feel him responding to her touch, but he still hadn't started breathing for himself.  Feeling completely out of our depth, we lifted the young mother and her baby into Chris' car to rush them to the hospital.

The odd thing was, we seemed to be the only ones who felt any urgency.  The woman who had come with the mother, as well as a couple others who had joined us in the street, acted somewhat surprised by our concern.  The mother herself, poor thing, was exhausted--and already past hope.  We learned that she had given birth to one other baby, who had also died.  She didn't resist our efforts; she was just completely passive.  So Chris told me to rub the baby's gums, to continue stimulating him, as we rode to the hospital.  I could feel his jaws move.

Unfortunately, once we got to the hospital, the scary situation turned into a nightmare.  Chris ran inside to get help... and was laughed at.  Eventually, she persuaded people to come out, although they certainly took their time in coming.  The mother was helped onto a simple metal gurney, and a nurse cut the umbilical cord and examined the baby.  With Chris standing there, pointing out the signs of life, the nurse started to wrap the baby in a cloth, ready to pronounce him dead.  When Chris protested, insisting that he could be saved with help, the nurse grudgingly made some attempts--including holding the baby upside down by his ankles and shaking him so hard he was whipping back and forth!  I can't get that image out of my mind.  They wheeled the mother and baby inside, Chris following to see that they received treatment.  (I stayed in the car with Chris' son Braden, who was patient throughout the ordeal.  It's not the first time his parents have suddenly turned into ambulance drivers.)  We waited and prayed.  When Chris came out later, she was visibly upset.  She kept saying that the hospital ward was the most traumatic thing she'd ever seen, that she was so glad I hadn't come inside, too.

She said the lack of facilities and training was horrifying.  Everywhere there were women in labor, screaming, with very little being done for them.  There was a single oxygen tank being used for four little newborns, with an attendant moving the mask from one to another, in turn.  And Chris said the man in charge knew even less what to do than she did.  She kept after the staff until someone brought a stethoscope, and they heard "our" baby's heart beating.  "He's a fighter," she said.  "With the right help, he could make it."

However, as she composed herself to go back inside, her expression told me she wasn't confident the baby would get the help he needed.  Even the man in charge did not know CPR.  Chris said she listened as the baby's heartbeat grew faither, and she felt his spirit leave him.

As we left the hospital, Chris mourned the prevailing attitude even more than the lack of training and facilities.  Everyone she saw thought she was crazy for caring about this baby.  Even the other mothers in the ward were laughing at her efforts.  The hospital staff, she was sure, wouldn't have taken action at all, if not for her pestering them to do this or that.

Also, we were disappointed, to be honest.  We know that God's plans are greater than our plans, but we had hoped He would step in, and that everyone there would see His power and care.  We had publicly prayed for the baby to live, wanting to see God reveal Himself and get the credit.  Instead He chose to have that baby experience only an hour of this life and then took him straight to heaven.  He knows best, and we have to trust that, even if we don't understand.

Meanwhile, Chris and I were left with a strong impression of the fatalistic society in which we're living.  "If it's meant to be, it will happen, and if it's not meant to be, there's nothing you can do."  This thinking drives Tanzanian behavior, just as ours is driven by cause-and-effect thinking, that we can influence outcomes by our actions.  I imagine that Tanzanians' fatalism helps them cope with their very difficult lives.  But, as we witnessed, the laid-back mentality has a dark side.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Rocky Mountain National Park









A picture is worth a thousand words, so this is a pretty long blog post already.  Picture credits all go to Andrew (except the one with him in it).  Let's just say it was one wonderful, beautiful day in Rocky Mountain National Park!  (And we even scored on getting in on one of the few free admission days they have each year.)

Estes Park




One day while we were in Estes Park, Colorado, Andrew and I went for a walk.  It started out a little bit rainy but we persevered, and we were ever rewarded for our endurance!  The sun came out, and this is what we saw - Elk, a lovely little lake, and mountains.  Wow.  Talk about a soul-refreshing day!  Nice handiwork, Creator!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Translators going to America

The two Bible translators pictures, Mussa (Ikoma translator) and Rukia (Ikizu translator) have been selected to go to the States for six weeks to do an intensive English course.  Out of a lot of applicants from around the world, these two were chosen to go to Orlando (along with 12 others from various countries) to improve their English skills, which will greatly help them in their translation work.

They are pictured here holding gifts for the families with which they will be staying in Orlando.  Their six-week course isn't just classroom work - they are going to have to use English at "home" the entire time, too!  I so, so, so wish I could travel with them from Tanzania to Orlando to see their first reactions at being on an airplane, seeing a country outside of East Africa, trying western food, and seeing crazy things like American kitchens and people walking their dogs on sidewalks.  And, for more practical reasons, I also wish I could be there to help them navigate airport security and customs just to make sure they actually end up in the right place.

Please pray for these two translators as they make this big journey on Sunday, Oct. 7.  Pray for them as they are far away from their families for so long and likely experiencing a lot of culture shock.  Both of them are quite near and dear to me and Andrew and we're so excited they have this opportunity, but we're also a little nervous on their behalf.  Making a huge cultural change isn't very easy!